I See You, Member

Remember your first class at DEUCE?

I sure do. To this day I still feel like I hit the jackpot. Embo coaching keg presses to a packed Nooner!

Even though I didn’t become a member for another four months, (I lived in Virginia at the time and was visiting LA for the first XPT Coach Certification), I’ll never forget how I felt that day. It was as if I had discovered home, the one I wasn’t born to… and on the other side of the country. Needless to say, after finally becoming a member, I savored a pretty long honeymoon phase.

Now, the start of my DEUCE story is besides the point. The reason I’m sharing it is actually to invite you to reflect on your first class at DEUCE. Maybe it was years ago, maybe it was months ago, maybe it was days ago! Whatever the case, when you became a member of DEUCE, you joined a family. And by nature of joining any family with an already rich history – you acknowledge that you certainly weren’t the first and won’t be the last. One day, the title as new member will graduate to member. Put another way, you’ll effectively become a middle child. But most importantly, remember that this is a good thing! Besides being inevitable, it’s developmental.

Novelty is sexy and new-kid attention isn’t an imagined phenomenon, though. So whether you can relate this to DEUCE or any other group – I encourage you to keep your eyes on the larger picture. Attention grows into something richer, belonging, but only with time.

If you wake up one day and realize you’re no longer “new” – do yourself a favor and celebrate that you stuck it out long enough to earn that reality. Just like the first chapter of a book is not better because it’s the first chronologically, I urge you to embrace the new opportunities and expanded context that each subsequent chapter provides.

 New, old, in between – as your fellow DEUCE family member and teammate – if you ever have any doubt, please let me reassure you: I see you and I’m here for you.